A World So Cold

Authors note: This is an active work in progress with the aim of publishing a full thriller novel at the end of the process, please take this as a work in progress and feel free to provide critiques or suggestions.

Prologue

“Hey! Wake up! Come on, don’t just lay there, wake up!”

I let out a groan at the incessant whispering and attempt to turn around so that I can fall back into my wonderful, deep sleep where I was lost in dreams of yesteryear, dreams of light and happiness, of peace and love…

Vastly different from the world of today.

“Damn it Jacob, wake up, we have to move!”

The voice, a little louder now and more determined drags me away from what little hope I had left of returning to those dreams and as I opened my eyes, reality came flooding back along with a noise I had hoped to never hear again.

We were holed up in a long-abandoned building, I remember hearing stories about these places as a child, how they were supposed to be places of sanctuary, a holy place where people could come to talk to their God, a higher being, a creator and source of their salvation, a place where all their bad deeds could be washed away and where no evil could enter. I could see the wood vaulted ceiling, dotted with holes where the roof had collapsed, once painted a brilliant white, now faded and crumbling, the sky outside was a blood-red and a full moon, like an all-seeing eye was framed perfectly in the middle, it felt like it was looking straight at me, and a shiver crept down my spine.

Outside I could hear a faint humming that was moving slowly around the permitter of the building, the sound itself is soothing, at least it would be if the sound were not combined with the ominous rattle of chains.

My blood ran cold, and I wanted nothing more than to lay back down and hope that I would fall back asleep and wake from this nightmare…

Chapter 1

I opened my eyes slowly to the soft touch of a hand gently caressing my cheek, the warm morning sun breaking in through a gap in the curtains and the smell of bacon frying downstairs in the kitchen.

“Good morning sleepy head.”

A soft, caring voice whispers beside me.

“It’s time to wake up. You need to get yourself ready for school, hurry up or you’ll miss breakfast. Your Dad’s doing eggs and bacon and we know how much you don’t want to miss that!”

“Morning Mum, I’ll be down in a minute”

I croaked back as I watch my Mum stand up and walk away, her long, dark, curly hair falling messily down her back, I lay back on my pillow with a sigh, dreading another day of school but looking forward to that egg and bacon breakfast. I lay there torn between leaving the soft comfort of my bed or savouring my Dad’s delicious eggs and bacon (he really does do the best eggs and bacon ever!)

“Breakfast is ready!”

My Dad’s deep but cheerful voice echoes up the stairs, it almost felt like it was being carried by that mouth wateringly delicious scent making the decision for me.

As I stand up, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I am tall for my age but slender with icy, piercing eyes and dark hair, swept back but still stylishly messy and after a quick run through with the comb I was good to go.

Although I dreaded school there was a spring in my step this morning as I hopped down the stairs, the smell of eggs and bacon getting stronger with each step. Life felt great, even the annoying chatter of my sister talking nonsense felt like music to my ears and nothing could ruin my day as today we were not actually in school, instead my year group were out on a school trip to some old place that was supposed to have once been important, my teachers called it the “Seat of power for our illustrious ancestors!” but for the rest of us? We were just glad to be able to get out of the classroom and as an added bonus Angela was going to be there!

Angela has been with me since Nursery, we both grew up in the same town, only a few streets apart, always went to the same schools, same classes, even the same social clubs! People talk, as people do, saying that we’re inseparable partners in crime and that we would follow each other to the ends of the Earth and back, little do they know, and little did we know that we would go further…

After a less than peaceful but oh so delicious breakfast it was time to go, my Dad was hurriedly finishing his last egg and bacon toastie while trying to tie his tie, my sister was now somehow talking about how fun the world would be if unicorns were real while my Mum listened on with pretend interest as she finished packing our lunch in to our bags while I just sat there and absorbed every bit of it, savouring the moment.

Normally this would have frustrated me, and I would be wishing for the chance to hide away in my room, put my headphones on and drown it all out but today… today was different, for some reason today this felt like Heaven, and I never wanted it to end.

“Earth to Joe, come in Joe, this is Mother, do you read me?”

I blinked and looked around a little startled, I didn’t realise that I had drifted off into a daydream, everyone was looking at me and even my sister was quiet for once.

“There you are you looked lost in space for a moment! Come on now or you’re going to be late, I’ve packed some extra snacks for you today, so you won’t be hungry when you’re doing all of that walking, now you behave yourself and send Angela our love.”

That’s my mother all over, she is the kindest, happiest person you’ll ever meet, and she cares deeply for everyone, but she has an especially soft spot for Angela, I often wonder if she sees her as a second daughter, one that is much quieter and more level-headed than my own sister.

“Joseph and Angela sitting in a tree…”

Oh no, here she goes again, every time I daydream, or anyone mentions her name my sister starts with this ridiculous rhyme. I look at my Mum and roll my eyes, suppressing a smile and in return she only laughs and shakes her head followed by a cheery “Have a wonderful day everyone!” as we all walk out of the door. My Dad suddenly stops, turns around and races back across to my Mum to give her a farewell kiss while me and my sister both chorus an exaggerated “EEEEWWW!” which causes both of my parents to laugh.

The bus pulled up to the stop and opened its doors, the driver as white as a sheet was trying hard to be their usual, cheery self with very little success, he ushered us on-board with a hasty “Morning kids, grab a seat!” a little too hasty… something must have happened earlier on, this once proud man, tall and well-built who gives the impression that he feared nothing was scared! Things became even more eery when both me and my sister stepped up on to the bus and realised there wasn’t a single sound, not one whisper or hint of the twenty or so children already sitting on-board. Looking around each and every one of them were frozen in fear, looking straight ahead to the windscreen like mannequins in the shop window, the only signs of life being the odd blink of an eye.

“Joe, what’s going on?”

My sister, normally a lively, chatty red head whispered beside me, edging closer to my side as we walked to one of the spare seats.

“I don’t know Sarah, stay close to me, this doesn’t feel right.”

“Why are they just staring like that? What happened?”

Before I could answer the doors closed and the bus started to move and at that exact moment everything changed, life returned along with the expected commotion that inevitably follows a bus full of school children, Sarah looked at me clearly confused and scared, while I was feeling exactly the same, I put on my best “See? It’s going to be ok” look, hoping to reassure my sister, all she did was smile back, put her earphones in and sit as close to me as she could.

So that happened… I thought to myself as I unlocked my phone and sent Angela a text.

Hey Ang, you at school?

Joe! Yes, it’s weird here, where are you?

On the bus, it’s weird here too…

Will tell you more when I see you, try to stay out of trouble until I get there.

I’ll meet you out front, what’s going on today?

I wish I knew…

The closer we got to the school the weirder things became, everyone on the bus had taken on that deathly quiet, stone faced mannequin look once more and looking out of the window it seemed as though everyone was walking around like robots, all stiff limbed, dead stare and emotionless, while those that weren’t looked scared, friends tried to talk to their zombified friends and received no response, not even a single reaction or flitter of recognition and there was Angela, sitting on a bench beside the footpath, trying to act cool and collected amid this eerie scene.

She looked up as the bus approached with a hopeful glint in her eye while she peered through the windows looking for me, standing up only when our eyes locked but still not daring to move from that bench until the bus came to a stop and she saw Sarah and I walk off the bus, clearly unaffected by whatever this is that has taken hold of everyone else.

“Sarah! Joe! I’m so glad you’re both ok, what is going on? Why is everyone acting so weird today?”

Angela practically threw herself in to my arms, holding me tight as though she was afraid to let go, afraid I wasn’t real or that I would become just like the others in an instant. I wrapped my own arms around her with a whispered “Hey, we’re fine and so are you, we’ll get through this.”

Sarah looked uncomfortably at Angela and I while we stood there wrapped in each other’s arms and turned to look at the school. On a normal day it was an imposing and bland block of red bricks and glass, laid out in an elongated U shape with no character or defining features, each window looked dark and menacing from the outside, almost lifeless, empty… Today this feeling was magnified, it felt like there were thousands of lifeless eyes looking out at us and yet, we couldn’t see a single one of them, a cold shiver ran down my spine when I followed her gaze, watching everyone arriving in the same, lifeless, robotic manner.

“Joseph, Angela, no physical contact in the school grounds please!”

The clipped, no-nonsense voice snapped out from behind me, it could only be one person, I knew that if I turned around, I would find a short woman with a straight back, a serious “Do not mess with me” expression on a face weathered with age, wearing her signature dark, pin stripe suit. I turned around to face her and sure enough there she was.

“Good morning, Mrs. Baker, sorry we’re overwhelmed with the strange experiences happening this morning and needed a little comfort… do you have any idea what’s going on today?”

“Well, no… I was hoping you three would have some idea, nearly everyone is acting like they have been hypnotised and to put it frankly it is highly unnerving.”

There was a short awkward silence between us for a short time until a though struck me.

“Mrs. Baker, the school trip today, is that still going ahead? If so, I do not feel comfortable leaving my sister here alone.”

“Well, yes, the coach is already booked, and we can’t cancel it now, it’s far too late. Sarah, this is highly unorthodox, but these are exceptional circumstances, would you like to accompany your brother? I suspect we will have a few no shows today.”

Sarah, looking a little taken aback by the question stuttered out an agreement.

“It’s settled then, please stay here, the coach will be here in a moment, I’m going to see who else has any semblance of sanity that will be accompanying us.”

We all watched as she hurried away into the school, quietly glad that she is ok as even though she is one of the stricter teachers in the entire school, she is also one of the few that genuinely cares for the students and always remains calm and fair, well… nearly always.